Note that due to some issues with the stats the Tandem-X replaces the Missile Boat in order to work properly.

3-23-03 CAN I GET A "HELL YEAH!"

After many years of work, the E-wing starfighter is finished and now available for download!

Special thanks go to Darksaber, General Edor Crespin and Freelancer, without whose help she never would have worked.

She can be downloaded from the Downloads section on the left

10-17-02 No, I'm not dead yet, just been too busy to update without a whole lot going on. For anyone who's been in a closet the last month or so the greatest show on TV has been cancelled for a load of bullshit reasons. That's right, SciFi has cancelled Farscape. Fortunately, though, they're getting hammered for it by the media.

Show's currently in its mid-season break and once again no repeats are playing (gee, too bad, think of all the new viewership they'd get if they DID) but new episodes resume in January. Apparently Crichton and crew end up back on earth in 1985, so I'm expecting a slew of Back to the Future references. Incidentally, here's a promotional pic of Aeryn in earth garb. Looks more 60s than 80s, but I've got three words: YEAH! BABY! YEAH!

8-17-02 It's finally here! After many moons of labor and late nights (and frequent questioning of my sanity in undertaking such a project) the X-wing Starfighter commentary is now up and operational! Check it out under the "Starfighters of the Rebellion" link at left.

8-16-02 Added a direct link to the X-wing: Legacy technical discussion forums under "Commentaries" at left.

Added a brief discussion on the autonomy of Rebel starfighters to the Commentary Introduction based on the use of NASA-type mission control at the Battle of Yavin, probably use of the same at Endor, unassisted fighter operations in the Expanded Universe novels, and historical fighter coordination in carrier operations of the WWII Pacific Theater.

7-31-02 Yeah, yeah, been a while since I've updated this thing. Not much news you all would be interested in lately. Although I would like to say congratulations to the latest member of the Baseball Hall of Fame: Ozzie "The Wizard of Oz" Smith, who was inducted this past Sunday into Cooperstown.

6-22-02 Even hours later I still can't believe it. The St. Louis Cardinals have received another tragic blow only a day after the legendary long-time voice of the Cardinals, Jack Buck, was laid to rest at Jefferson Barracks, Cardinals starting pitcher Darryl Kyle was found dead today in the team's hotel in Chicago

Kile, who won in his last start this past Tuesday against Anaheim to put the Cardinals at the top of the Central Division, died between 10pm Friday and 12pm Saturday morning. The Cardinals realized something was wrong when he wasn't at the stadium early as usual. He was later found dead in his bed by the hotel staff.

Today's game against the Cubs was cancelled in light of the tragedy, and players, managers and coaches around baseball expressed their shock and sorrow for Kile's wife and three children.

Kile was one of the cornerstones of the team's pitching staff, and was also a leader in the clubhouse. In his two and a half seasons with the Cardinals he never missed a start.

Although an exact cause is unknown, Chicago's Homicide has found no evidence of forced entry into his room, or signs of foul play. It is believed he died of natural causes.

After Saturday afternoon's game was cancelled and Cubs and Cards fans at Wrigley Field left for home or remained in their seats, stunned. During a meeting Saturday evening, the Cardinals voted nearly unanimously to take the field in their scheduled Sunday night game, the finale of the three-game series. Darryl Kile was the scheduled starter in that game for the Redbirds, and they decided that the best way to honor the man who never missed a start since coming to St. Louis in 1999 was not to miss on the day he was scheduled to pitch. However out of sympathy and respect for Mrs. Kile, the Cardinals will not play without her permission. It's unknown whether the baseball commission will allow the game to take place regardless of her decision.

I am shocked and saddened, and this has been a tragic week for the City of St. Louis, Major League Baseball in general and the Cardinal Nation in particular. Two admired and respected men in the game are gone, now. Jack Buck passed away mere hours after Kile led the Cards into first place in the NL Central Tuesday night, and now DK is gone, the day after Buck's funeral and the day before he was to take the mound against the Cards' biggest rivals.

#57 1968-2002

6-19-02 It's with great sadness today I announce the death of legendary radio announcer Jack Buck. Buck, who broadcast for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1954-2001, passed away last night after six months in a hospital following surgery to remove a cancerous spot on his lung, an intestinal blockage, kidney failure, and a series of infections.

Although best-known as the "Voice of the Cardinals" since the departure of his one-time partner Harry Caray, Buck had broadcasted almost every professional sport at one point in his career. He pioneered talk radio, and worked with the likes of Bryant Gumble and Jonathan Winters.

Perhaps Buck's most famous call was perhaps the legendary "Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!" when Cards Shortstop Ozzie Smith hit a game-winning home run against the Dodgers in the 1985 NLCS to send the Cards to the World Series.

Buck is a member of seven halls of fame, including the broadcasting and radio halls of fame, and the broadcasters' wing at Cooperstown.

His loss is a hard one for both baseball and broadcasting, and for St. Louisans, it's the loss of an institution.

Jack, wherever you are, we love and miss you.

5-15-02 Happy birthday to me (not like anyone really cares). Cards deal a sweep to the Chicago Cubs today. Yay.

5-12-02 Do you believe in miracles? After being down 8-0 to the Cincinnati Reds after two innings, the Cards rallied to a 10-8 victory, aided by a 2-run homer by a struggling J.D. Drew. This is the first time the Cards have won a series since taking two from Montreal about a month ago.

Not much else to say lately, so that's why there's been no updates.

4-24-02 Cards break a 5-game losing streak today, beating the New York Mets 4-2 in a real pitcher's duel between St. Louis' Darryl Kyle, and the Pond Scum's Al Leiter. Struggling Cards 1B Tino Martinez went 3-for-4 with an RBI, and Albert Pujols hit a home run, his 5th on the season, in the top of the 9th for some insurance. Eddie Perez gave the Cards the lead with a two-run shot off Leiter in the 8th, breaking a 1-1 tie. The Cards three runs off Leiter are the only three earned runs he's given up at Shea Stadium this season.

4-20-02 Added two new links to the Other Links section, the official Farscape website, and Crichtonisms.com

I've pulled down the scoreboard. Besides the fact most of you probably don't give a damn, it's a REAL pain in the ass to update every day.

4-19-02 Check out Hobby Link Japan (link under Other Links at left). The next model in Fine Molds' Star Wars series is ready for preorder, the Imperial TIE Starfighter.

4-17-02 The Cards struck back hard against Arizona's Curt Schilling after getting pounded 14-5 Monday, and getting edged out 5-3 by the Big Unit. Matt Morris improved to 4-0 on the season in his start, aided by four runs from the Grand Slam launched by Jim Edmonds in the 6th Inning, his fourth career Grand Salami and sixth homer on the season. Matty Mo is now tied with Randy Johnson for the Major League lead in victories.

Sadly for the Cards, starting pitcher Andy Benes may return to the DL with soreness in his right knee that already contributed to his career-worst season last year. Although nothing official has been stated, Andy also is considering retirement.

4-13-02 Whew, Cards won a nailbiter today. Darryl Kile and Roy Oswalt had a real pitcher's duel going, allowing one run each through six innings. The unstoppable Eli Marrero, hitting .519, won it in the Bottom of the 9th for St. Louis with a bases loaded single to left that scored J.D. Drew.

4-11-02 No, you're not seeing things. The Cards beat Milwaukee 6-5 in all three games of the series.

4-4-02 Because it's so early in the season, I'm not bothering with the standings listed above. Teams are flip-flopping so much it's a real pain in the ass. I'll start keeping up with that later on once there's a few more games difference between the teams.

4-1-02 The only fools in St. Louis today were the Colorado Rockies thinking they were going to win the opening game of the season. The Cards pounded the Rockies 10-2, scoring five of their runs off starter Mike Hampton. Mighty Matty Mo went 7 innings, giving up only one run. Tino Martinez begins his regular season with the Cards in style with a couple RBIs on a sacrifice fly and a single. Jason Isringhausen recorded two strikeouts in his first appearance in the regular season as St. Louis' closer. Practically EVERY position player had a hit today, including a homer by starting catcher Mike DiFelice, and a three-run RBI double by Albert Pujols.

I was there early for the pep rally, and proved I'd never make it in the Majors (hell, not even little league) by missing all five pitches in the batting cage and throwing a whopping 40 miles per hour. Among the festivities was the parade of the team through Busch Stadium, Jeffrey Osborne singing the National Anthem, and Hall of Fame inductee Ozzie "The Wizard of Oz" Smith throwing the first pitch to none other than Cards manager of the 80s, Whitey Herzog. Sadly, radio announcer Jack Buck was unable to attend as he's still recovering in the hospital from surgery this spring.

3-31-02 Baseball season starts tomorrow here in St. Louis, as the Cards open their 2002 campaign at home against Colorado. Matty Mo takes on Mike Hampton, and I'll be there field level to see it.

3-25-02 Oscar night has come and gone, and no single film ran away with it. The Fellowship of the Ring and A Beautiful Mind tied in the lead with four statues apiece, FotR received awards for Makeup, Cinematography, Visual Effects and Score, while ABM received Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly) Adapted Screenplay, Director and Picture.

Personally, I was rather disappointed in some of the Academy's choices. How The Fellowship of the Ring could NOT have received Best Adapted Screenplay is beyond explanation. Adapting Tolkien's fantasy epic to the screen was a monumental task that much of Hollywood deemed impossible, yet not only does the near-universal acclaim, the greatest of any movie nominated, stand as testament to its success, but the financial side alone indicates just what the writers accomplished! Moulin Rouge! took the award for Costume Design. I suppose that the Academy doesn't consider the 5000 suits of unique armor made for FotR as costuming. I am deeply stunned that Sir Ian McKellan lost out Best Supporting Actor.

Some of the awards were surprising. Although the Best Song award remains in the evil clutches of the Disney Empire (in my opinion Disney had the deck stacked in their favor: two of the five nominees were from a Disney flick) it was the least expected of the two to win: Randy Newman earned the nod for Monster's, Inc. over Faith Hill for Pearl Harbor. Oscar politics as usual seems to have come into play here: Newman has been nominated 16 times, and took home his first statue tonight. Another surprise is Black Hawk Down's taking the award for Editing over all but guaranteed winner Memento.

As could probably be expected, A Beautiful Mind also won for Director and Picture. I know how good Ron Howard is, but he's too political a figure to not leave people wondering whether more Academy politics had come into play, considering Opie is the Academy's favorite son. Personally I felt that Peter Jackson deserved this one for the same reason Fellowship deserved Adapted Screenplay. He took on what Hollywood deemed impossible: Adapting Tolkien's trilogy in a way that not only made it accessible to Middle-earth newbies, but without upsetting a fan base more rabid than Star Wars. The success of Fellowship despite the odds stacked against it speak for itself: P.J. did everything he set out to do, and right now, the Fellowship of the Ring has already paid for the entire Trilogy world-wide, and before its run is over will have done so in the U.S. market alone (not only that, but Disney is probably kicking themselves for letting P.J.'s gamble slip through their fingers).

I didn't see A Beautiful Mind, but obviously my feelings about Fellowship is that it could have won Best Picture. Enough of a ghost of political maneuvering surrounds ABM to leave a shadow of doubt on its success. It's the stereotypical Oscar-winner. It's a Ron Howard movie. Fellowship is a fantasy film, a genre which has yet to earn the top Oscar, and by a man who openly admits he's a Hollywood outsider. ABM may have the reward, but that victory is tainted by the possibility of yet more Academy politics.

Let's face it, with the Oscars it doesn't necessarily mean how good you are, but more often than not who you are.

3-24-02 Added a number of entries to the Star Wars Community Links section, and also added a new category of other links called, you guessed it, Other Links.

3-21-02 Did some minor housekeeping around the site, mainly for consistency of style on the various pages when applicable (if you're REALLY interested, all headings are justified left, images centered in both the Gallery and Models section, and a horizontal line dividing the section description from the actual content. The Fighter Commentary is excluded as it has its own style). Also added a new entry to my Famous Quotes.

3-20-02 This coming Tuesday (March 26) Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville's Concert and Jazz Lab Bands will be performing at 7:30 in the auditorium. I'm playing lead alto in the Jazz Lab Band and we're doing an all-Ellington concert. This means I get to be Johnny Hodges for a night! Woo-hoo! The concert is free to the public (I think) and once again is at 7:30pm this coming Tuesday and features SIUE's two jazz bands: The Jazz Lab Band directed by Jason Swaggler to open the show, followed by the Concert Jazz Band directed by Brett Stamps.

Also, added a list of my favorite movie duels to the About Me section.

3-14-02 Cards play their last Split Squad game today.

Incidentally, I heard a report Tuesday that I quite like. Apparently according to ESPN or one of the other sporting magazines, the Cards are predicted to win the whole show this year, with a 4 games to 1 victory over the New York Yankees in the World Series.

3-12-02 Updated the community links with a little better organization. Clicking the links at left will open a whole new page with a list of websites and a brief description.

3-11-02 The Cards play an away game against inter-divisional rivals Atlanta today. I hope the Cards humiliate those bastards. Stupid Braves, Ted Turner has enough money owning all of cable television as it is, he doesn't need a baseball team adding to it. >:-(

3-10-02 Added pics of my Republic-class Star Destroyer to the Models section.

The trailer for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones premiered tonight on Fox. All-in-all I wasn't too impressed by the trailer itself. Trailer B for TPM was far better, as was the theatrical trailer for the Special Edition re-release (found on the first release of the ANH:SE tape). In particular the music choice wasn't exactly the best (the concert suite variation of The Forest Battle is one of my favorites from the Original Trilogy, but doesn't exactly make a good piece of trailer music given the seriousness of Episode II). However the clips looked promising, and I particularly look forward to Obi-Wan's asteroid field duel with Slave I, and Anakin going double-sabers. And wow, it's absolutely PHENOMENAL just how much Ewan MacGreggor looks like the late Sir Alec Guinness.

3-9-02 Added a couple more sketches to the Gallery. Added pics of two more 3D models to the Models section.

Cards are in Split Squad action today, playing Montreal at home at Jupiter, and away at Kissimmee against division rivals Houston. Albert Pujols is expected to be able to play as designated hitter against Houston after spraining his ankle Thursday.

3-7-02 Sorta bad news for the Cards. Albert Pujols sprained his right ankle running the bases in today's exhibition game against the Phillies. He managed to walk to the dugout under his own power, though, and is listed as day-to-day. Pujols is the second major Cards slugger to go down this spring. J.D. Drew sprained his left ankle twice, but is expected to start in tomorrow's game.

3-6-02 Added some new images to the Gallery. Also put my news into this nifty little scrolling window.

3-5-02 Updated my bio (About Me at left) and my scoreboard layout (above).

Updated the Introduction to the Starfighter Commentary with an entry on astromech droids under the common technologies section.

Minor update, brought my gallery online. Just some more pics of me.

Wild. Today's exhibition game between Los Angeles and St. Louis ended as a tie.

3-4-02 Added Andrew Tse's theory on the limitations of acceleration compensators to that section of the Introduction to the Starfighter Commentary.

3-3-02 Cards got pounded today, 12-1. Ankiel's control was somewhat shaky, walking the first two batters he faced on nine pitches, (however all nine found the catcher's mitt, and were fairly close to the strike zone) giving up a single on 0-2 to load the bases, and then a grand slam. He then set down the next three in order. The next inning was better, retiring two of the first three (the pitcher managed a single). A grounder booted by Polanco should have ended the inning (but was scored a single, rather than an error) and two more singles allowed a run to score. Despite giving up 5 runs and only striking out one batter, overall it wasn't a bad outing. He threw 30 of 47 pitches for strikes (after the first two batters he threw 29 strikes and nine balls). None of his pitches went to the backstop. Ignoring the first four batters he faced this is a good sign for Ankiel.

Site updated with the models gallery now up and running. Before you guys get excited, these are the 3D type, not 34DD. Access from the links at left.

Cards pitcher Rick Ankiel takes the mound today against the Montreal Expos. From all reports, Rick's showed no signs of the control problems which sent him down to the minors last season. Hopefully he'll be back up to his 2000 form.

3-2-02 Just heard that Cards radio announcer, member of the broadcasting wing in the Baseball Hall of Fame Jack Buck is in the hospital following a series of staph infections following surgery to remove an intestinal blockage. Buck is 77 and has done the radio broadcasts for the Cards since 1954. All my hopes for a speedy and full recovery.

Also, rookie phenom Albert Pujols has signed a one-year deal with the Cards. The unanimously voted National League Rookie of the Year batted .329, hit 37 homers, (two shy of a new league rookie record) set a NL rookie record with 130 RBIs, hit 47 doubles and scored 112 runs and played four positions last season.

Thanks to the invaluable assistance of Defiant (basically he fixed whatever I screwed up) the Guestbook is now up and running.

3-1-02 Reorganized the About Me section somewhat. Moved my Famous Quotes to a section all their own.

Cards win another one in exhibition play, pounding the Mets 7-1. Mike DiFelice and Eli Marrero each launched a homer in the 2nd, (Eli's was a two-run shot) with Tony Mota adding another, a three-run homer, in the 8th, giving Matty Mo his first Spring Training win.

Updated the intro to the Starfighter Commentary. Added a quick discussion on the MGLT unit to the section on physics concerns, and will also soon expand the acceleration compensator section with limitations theories by Andrew Tse (who by the way also pointed out to me some better pics of Shannon Baksa than her Mara Jade ones at shannonbaksa.homestead.com/modeling.html. No matter, Angie's still MY Mara Jade ;) ).

2-28-02 Go Cards! St. Louis won their first game of Spring Training today against the Mets by the score of 5-2, with Dave Veres getting the win. J.D. Drew smacked a solo home run, and Mike Matheney and Eduardo Perez each drove in a run. Andy Benes gave up only two hits in three innings in his first start of the Spring. Andy is one of three pitchers vying for the role of fifth starter this season. He's up against some stiff competition, as troubled rookie Rick Ankiel has so far shown no sign of the control problems which sent him down to Single-A ball last season, and Garret Stephensen is looking strong coming back from arm surgery. Tomorrow they make the trip to Mets home field with Matt Morris on the mound.

Take me out to the baaaaaall gaaaaaame! It's that time of year, folks, baseball season is about to begin as Spring Training exhibition games get underway today. Cards veteran Andy Benes is looking to break out of his tough couple seasons these past few years (he went 7-7 with a 7+ ERA in '01) in a start against the Pond Scum: the New York Mets on Cards spring homefield at Roger Dean Stadium. From now until October I'll be keeping the Cards' score and record.

The OPT download page is now opened. The original E-wing Darksaber and I did is available for download.

2-27-02 It's finally here! The first page of the Rebel Starfighter Commentary is online!

2-26-02 Added the "About Me" section

Added links in to four sites, you can access them from the frame at left.

Added the links to Shadow of Xizor and Star Jedi, fonts necessary to view parts of this site properly. You can download them above.

2-25-02 Suilantan meldonyar! This is Quenya for "Greetings, my friends!" You're (un)fortunate enough to have stumbled onto my little corner of the Internet. This site is dedicated to me, X-wing: Alliance, and pretty much most all things Star Wars. Things are a tad dusty and uncompleted right now so watch your step, and try not to annoy the tech crews. They tend to get surly when they're drinking.

Conteent? We don't need no steenkeeng conteent! This place is just getting off the ground right now, so there's not too much to see. However I hope to have up some pics of my many incomplete models which may likely never see the light of day pretty soon, as well as my Star Wars FanFic, First Unity (mostly known from the first part "Dark Alliance") and some other random garbage (I hope to put up a movie and book review section by yours truly). This will also eventually be home to my eternally incomplete commentary on the starfighters of the Rebel Alliance and New Republic.

Anyway, have fun looking at the non-functional links at left, and playing with the scrollbar on my one and only page